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Eight Off Solitaire Online
Eight Off deals six face-up cards into each of eight tableau columns. Four more cards occupy four of the eight cells, leaving four cells empty at the start. Build down by suit in the tableau and move all 52 cards to Ace-to-King foundations.
Eight Off rules: eight cells and King-only columns
- Tableau: build down one rank in the same suit. Move only correctly ordered same-suit packets.
- Cells: each holds one card. Cards in the starting occupied cells are part of the deal and must also reach the foundations.
- Empty columns: accept only a King or a legal packet starting with a King.
- Moving limit: available cells and spare empty columns limit packet length. With no empty columns, the limit is the number of empty cells plus one.
- Foundations: build each suit from Ace through King. There is no stock.
Three storage decisions in Eight Off
These simplified positions illustrate decisions in this game; they are not your current deal.
1. One occupied cell can stop a five-card move
Playing a cell card to a foundation or a legal tableau destination can reopen that space. The number eight in the game's name is the total cell count, not the number of cells available throughout the game.
2. An empty column is not an extra free cell
With two empty cells and no other empty columns, the King-led three-card run fits: the limit is three. The destination itself does not add spare capacity. A mixed King–Queen packet would also fail if the cards did not descend in one suit.
3. A starting cell Ace can unlock a longer move
Eight Off begins with four empty cells and no empty tableau columns, allowing packets of up to five cards. Suppose one of the four occupied cells contains an Ace of Clubs.
- Move that Ace to an empty foundation. You now have five empty cells.
- A six-card Heart run—Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6—can now move onto an exposed Queen of Hearts. Before freeing the cell, that run was one card too long.
The extra capacity comes from the cell you released, not from the foundation score. If you immediately use the newly empty cell for another card, the limit falls back to five until more space is freed.
Check the four starting cell cards first
Look first at the four cards already in cells. An Ace can start a foundation immediately, and another card may have a same-suit tableau destination. Releasing one increases your room to rearrange later packets.
Plan for a King before clearing a tableau column. A 9 of Hearts cannot enter the empty column in this game, even if it is the only card you are moving. A King-led packet must also fit your available moving capacity.
Common questions
Why can I not put a low card into an empty column?
Eight Off reserves empty tableau columns for Kings or packets beginning with Kings. An empty cell accepts a single low card, but it is a different kind of space from an empty column.
Why are only four of the eight cells empty when I start?
The deal puts 48 cards into the eight tableau columns and the remaining four into cells. Those occupied cells hold ordinary cards that must reach the foundations; they are not fixed blockers.
Does a King-led packet always fit an empty column?
No. Beginning with a King satisfies the destination rule, but the packet must still descend in one suit and fit the available moving capacity. The empty destination cannot also count as a spare working column.
Using the eight cells without filling them accidentally
Select a cell card and choose its exact tableau or foundation destination to release that cell. When moving a packet, select its first card in the tableau and target a column. Selecting an empty cell as the destination does not split the packet automatically; a cell holds only one card.
- Click or tap a card, then its destination. For a packet, select the first card you want to carry. Select it again to cancel. The message below the board explains the current selection or move.
- Undo reverses your last action. Hint highlights a legal action and describes it below the board; it does not calculate a complete winning route.
- New starts a fresh shuffle. Daily starts this game's dated challenge. Both replace the current board.
- Full Screen gives the board more room. On a narrow screen, scroll sideways inside the board to reach all its piles.
Compare related games
Baker's Game uses the same-suit rule with four cells and lets any rank fill an empty column. Sea Towers keeps the King restriction but offers fewer cells and ten columns. FreeCell builds by alternating color.